Our view: Loves Park Mayor Lindberg worthy of re-election vote

The city of Loves Park has seen some remarkable development even during tough economic times.

The city of Loves Park has seen some remarkable development even during tough economic times.

Anderson Automotive built a Toyota Lexus dealership at Riverside Boulevard and Perryville Road.

There’s the OSF Center for Health-Rock Cut, the YMCA’s east-side branch and a Crusader Community Health facility on North Second Street.

A city’s mayor is not the only person who helps to make such projects happen — but he plays an important role in ensuring those projects do come to town and are done well.

Darryl Lindberg has served well as Loves Park mayor for 16 years, and we think he deserves four more years.

The projects listed above are only a small sample of what has come to Loves Park during Lindberg’s years as mayor. More impressive than the recent growth is that Lindberg has kept Loves Park’s property taxes at zero and intends to keep them there.

However, Lindberg did cast the deciding vote in 2010 to impose a utility tax and that tax is a big reason that Ald. John Pruitt is challenging Lindberg. Pruitt, who has been an alderman for 22 years, also can take credit for improvements in Loves Park.

Pruitt would like to repeal the utility tax, although he realistically acknowledges that it’s not something that can happen quickly. He thinks the city needs to wean itself from the utility tax, perhaps phasing it out by a half percentage point or a percentage point a year.

Pruitt sees the economy turning and, with Woodward expanding, he sees more people spending more money, generating more sales tax revenue for the city, therefore offsetting the need for the utility tax.

The problem, Lindberg says, is that when you look at the total financial picture of the city, taking the $1.5 million the utility tax raises out of the budget would mean eliminating people. He’s committed to maintaining city services.

Besides, Loves Park has many infrastructure needs that will require significant investment. Anyone who’s ever driven down North Alpine Road would agree.

He’s made cuts. In 2000, Loves Park had 80 full-time employees. Today, the city has 70.

He’s eliminated programs, consolidated, partnered with the county on public safety and switched Loves Park’s public transit system to the Rockford Mass Transit District.

The city’s financial picture is strained by the state of Illinois’ budget picture. There have been discussions about reducing the amount of income-tax money municipalities get back from the state.

If that happens, it won’t just be a problem for Loves Park, it will be a problem throughout northern Illinois and throughout the state.

Lindberg’s commitment to providing a full-service city is admirable, but we wonder whether it’s realistic long term. Can the city continue to thrive as its pension costs escalate? Last year, the city shorted its recommended pension payment by about $400,000.

We’ve seen what shorting pension payments has done to the state of Illinois and hope Loves Park does not fall as far behind in its pension obligations as the state has.

We wonder whether the pension burden will one day lead Loves Park to eliminate its police department and follow the example of its neighbor Machesney Park, which contracts with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department for public safety.

Tough decisions lie ahead, and we think Lindberg is the best candidate to tackle those tough decisions. We think he deserves your vote April 9.